Acton had a crucial role in the events of April 19:

Three Men from Acton

Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington and Concord

The town of Acton, Massachusetts, is located six miles west of Concord. In 1775, it was a small rural farming community in Middlesex County. Shortly after the British Parliament revoked the provincial charter of Massachusetts, Acton organized a Minuteman Company. Many other similar towns did the same. In typical New England fashion, in a nascent form of democracy, members of the company elected Isaac Davis, a popular 30-year-old gunsmith, as Captain. The ranks of the company swelled as tension with the British in Boston continued to smolder. Luther Blanchard, the company’s fifer, learned to play a tune called “The White Cockade,” a throwback to Scottish opposition to the English crown.

From the History Chanel:

At about 5 a.m., 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town’s common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment’s hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, a shot was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or dying and 10 others were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured, but the American Revolution had begun.

By 1775, tensions between the American colonies and the British government approached the breaking point, especially in Massachusetts, where ...

Acton Republican Town Committee

7:00 PM Tuesday, March 19, 2019 Meeting Agenda

At the Acton Memorial Library

http://www.actonrepublicans.org/

Meet-n-greet time: 7:00 to 7:20

Agenda: 7:20 to 8:45

1. Call to Order at 7:20 PM, welcome visitors
2. Comments/Approval minutes previous meeting (as submitted)
3. Treasurer's Report
4. Committee Business
   
   1. Jo-Ann Berry, candidate for the Town of Acton Moderator (7:30-8:10)
   2. Kelley’s Corner Infrastructure presentation (Benson/Charter/Kenah) (8:10-8:45)
5. Set next meeting for Wednesday, April 17, at TBD
6. Adjournment

Dave Lunger, Chairman; Tom Beals Vice-Chairman; Mike Majors, Treasurer; Beth Farley, Secretary;

Bill Beebee; John Norton; Lois Doskocil; Maryann Seward; Jim Conboy; Carol Mahoney; Jack Mahoney;

© ARTC 2019 Confidential, not to be distributed without written permission

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Our neighbor, the WRTC (Westford) and Kathy Lynch interviewed MA GOP Chair Jim Lyons recently...

Thanks Kathy! The ARTC looks forward to working with Jim, in a bottom-up and grass-roots driven approach,

to help build the party and promote the Republican principles of individual liberty, property rights and

smaller and limited government.

BOSTON – Early this morning, after trying to reclaim a place in the Republican Party, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announced a grandstanding political gambit that reeks of political opportunism. His self-seeking ploy to divide Republicans will fail. 

"Weld is the same ex-Republican who deserted Massachusetts for New York; who endorsed President Barack Obama over Senator John McCain for President; who renounced the GOP for the Libertarian Party; who ran against the Trump-Pence Republican ticket in 2016, while cozying up to Democrat Hillary Clinton," said MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons. " After abandoning Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians, Weld demands that faithful Republicans consider him as their standard bearer. Even Benedict Arnold switched allegiances less often! We Republicans will put partisanship aside, reach across the aisle to Democrats, and Libertarians, and reject Bill Weld."

There are up to 9 Citizen Petitions up for consideration at the April 1 Town Meeting. Many of them may become quite contentious, although most are non-binding. Here is a quick listing to bear in mind over the next 2 months - this is the time to gather information and opinions as to their relative merits - or demerits:

Building Moratorium - 5 years of no new residential building. Non-binding.

Development Rate Limitation - maximum limit to number of building permits to be processed. Non-binding.

Land Clearing Limit - upper %-age of how much your parcel can be cleared. Non-binding.

Size Limit of new single-family houses. Upper amount of square footage. Figure suggested is 4000 sq. ft. Non-binding.

No New Turning Lanes at Kelley's Corner. Non-binding. If nothing changes, we will get more turning lanes that will "take" current sidewalks and business parking; loss of old-growth trees along Mass Av; and increased traffic flow (ie, faster). This petition urges a change to remove the extra turning lanes. IMHO, this attempt to decrease congestion will allow cars to travel quicker, but will promote more regional traffic to flow thru Acton from other towns. It will STILL be congested at rush hour times.

Plastic Bag law - no single-use point-of-sale plastic bags allowed. I believe this requires a 2/3 vote, as it is a zoning change.

And a few others: Increasing ability to have detached accessory apartments; Land acquisition at 257 Central St; and Registering intent to purchase the K-Mart property.

The petitions and other info can be found here.